The use of polymers in oilfield flooding for the enhanced recovery of hydrocarbons from underground formations is well known. Primarily two types of polymers are currently being employed commercially: synthetic polymers, principally partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamides, and biologically produced polysaccharides. Although both types of materials have been successfully employed in field applications, both suffer from limitations and deficiencies. In particular, with respect to the synthetic polymers, these problems include shear degradation, viscosity loss in brines, reaction with divalent ions, metal ion degradation, hydrolysis reactions, microbial degradation, filtration requirements, and excessive polymer loss by retention or adsorption in rock formations. Of these, viscosity retention in brine and stability to shear are considered to be of primary importance for a successful oilfield flooding polymer and are considered to be the major weaknesses of currently available partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamides.